Jared and Ms.Torres Characters - Paper Example

The two main characters in the vignette are Jared and his mother, Ms. Torres. Jared's problem can be from multiple reasons such as lack of a fatherly figure in his life, poor advice from the mother and even the difficultness in socializing with his peers. For instance, injunctions Jared receives from his mother causes him to do what he feels like doing even if it hurts other people. He lacks social skills in that he does not know how to relate to others in a friendly manner but only to irritate them. Despite the fact that the vignette does not provide information on how Jared engages in other interactive activities during games time, we can assert that his relationship with others is no better. From a psychological approach, it is evident that the negative injunctions Jared receive from his mother cause Jared to experience distress in the way he sees things or people around him. For instance, though we are not told on other messages Ms. Torres tells his son, we can assert that the messages may involve issues of life being worthless thus a distorted perception on people and the environment. With the negative characters of disturbing the peace of other children and throwing their things, it is visible from a social perspective to assert that the peers distance themselves from Jared for fear of being hurt by his behaviors. However, when he is distanced by others, Jared can berate himself and thus become less concerned with appearance and hygiene as a biological concern. The problem may cause other children to avoid him further.

Ms. Torres as another character and a significant cause of how Jared behaves is ignorant and carefree kind of a person. She feels free to justify her son's behaviors on the grounds of life being hard and thus the need for him to get and keep what he can pick. Ms. Torres' problem of struggling to raise children without a male figure to offer adequate support makes her suffer mentally. She goes through psychological trauma to meet the needs of the kids as well as pay rent and other bills and thus developing negative perspective towards life. However, we are not told the number of Jared's siblings and if they behave the same way. But if the house is messy as it is, we can assert that no child behaves better and different from Jared as he or she could have arranged the house as well as cleaning all stuff. Furthermore, the situation faced by Ms. Torres and how she reacts after my presence in the house implies that she has no friend to socialize with given the situation in the house. A friend or rather friends coming in the house could have at least made Ms. Torres tidy the house and also change the perspective towards life and how she advises the children. Furthermore, Ms. Torres berates herself and makes prejudgment on how people think of her, an action that harms both her physical and environmental hygiene. Though the information on Ms. Torres' appearance is not revealed, we are sure to say that her hygiene is poor just as the house is.

However, despite Jared's behaviors, his strengths are recognizable in that he listens when he is scolded and further gives in to apologizing when forced to do so. Despite the apology not being genuine, it is good that he realizes the mistake. It implies that when Jared's needs a fatherly figure or change of environment at home which will make him see life from another perspective. Just like Jared, Ms. Torres has strengths such as raising children without their father. She can take Jared to school as well as provide a home for the children. With this fact, it implies that Ms. Torres is hardworking and only needs a male figure who can aid in advising children as well as offer financial support thus reduce stress for her. The behavior of Ms. Torres can be justified through stress she experiences in raising the children and meeting with other needs. Jared having the courage to pick other children's property and throwing on grounds implies courage and confidence, and thus these strengths should be transformed through enrolling him in other correctional institutions. In these systems, Jared can be made to pick things from people older than him, and in return, the children should scold or make fun of him and thus it is possible for him to change. Furthermore, introducing a fatherly figure n his life will imply that the strengths of Jared to destroy people's things will be corrected by the male figure and thus pave the way for new messages and advice. Just like Jared, the strengths of Ms. Torres can be transformed by introducing other people in her life to help in changing her state of survival. Furthermore, Ms. Torres can use her strengths to get a male figure to assist in raising the children given her hard work of taking the children to school.

However, there are challenges such as making Jared's mother realize that the son has a problem that needs a solution given the first encounter with her. Another challenge is making Jared see life beyond what his mother had taught him. For instance, it is challenging to make Jared stop picking and destroying other peoples' property yet this is what the mother has been teaching him all along. From a critical perspective, I can assert that these challenges arise from the struggles Ms. Torres faces in raising the children without the father. Furthermore, the reason why the children's father or fathers is not around can be the basis for the challenges. It is evident to assert that the origin of these barriers is from the mother who may have a problem and the reason why male figures do not want to stay with her but only to use her and go.

According to Erickson's psychosocial theory, human beings are always in danger of sociocultural determinants which must be overcome for easier adjustment to the environment. However, encountering an imminent crisis in most cases contributes to psychosocial development where individuals have no choice but to face the crisis but it is nevertheless saddening if the problems are not overcome. Erikson avails eight stages of development under different age groups asserting that both Jared and his mother were going through a different crisis (Christiansen et al., p.133). The fact that Jared is still young implies that his logical reasoning can be changed despite the already planted notion by the mother. The point is justifiable under stage four of Erikson theory in that if Jared uses his courage to hurt others in doing useful things, self-confidence will be boosted thus reduce the feeling of inferior before others. In the same way, Ms. Torres's state is assessable from stage six of the theory which explicitly reveals that intimacy vs. isolation makes people suffer mentally, physically and socially. The fact that Ms. Torres has no male figure to show her love and aid in raising children justifies the lady's condition and state. In this case, both Ms. Torres and Jared need to receive support based on their requirements. The fact that both their problems arise from lack of a father or male figure in their lives, introduction to one will bring a drastic change in that Jared will be guided the right way while the mother will receive both emotional and financial support.

Works Cited

Christiansen, Shawn L., and Rob Palkovitz. "Exploring Erikson's psychosocial theory of development: Generativity and its relationship to paternal identity, intimacy, and involvement in childcare." The Journal of Mens Studies 7.1 (1998): 133-156.